Question Buzzing noise coming from CPU area -- AIO pump?

[eightyeleven]

Hi all,

Over the last few months, my custom build (built almost 3 years ago) has developed a persistent buzzing noise that started quieter and got louder over time. I'm not exactly sure when it happened -- it could have been random or it could have been related to adding or swapping a part, but I know it didn't happen when I installed the AIO CPU cooler. When it first began, it was also intermittent, and now it happens any time my computer is on. I'm 99% sure it's not any of the fans (I've used fan tuning software to turn them all off, including those on the AIO radiator, and it still occurs), and when I've tried to localize the noise inside the case, it seems very distinctly to be coming from the CPU/AIO pump. What I have not tried yet is unmounting the cooler from the CPU/swapping the cooler. I'm wondering -- does this sound like air trapped in the pump, or could anything else near the CPU area of the motherboard be making this noise?

Here's a video of the noise:

https://imgur.com/a/kVKdtHx

View: https://imgur.com/a/kVKdtHx


Here are my system specs:
ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
EVGA RTX 3090 ULTRA HYBRID GAMING
Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR4 3600 (64GB)
NZXT Kraken Z73 360mm AIO cooler
be quiet! DARK POWER 12 850W PSU

Thank you for your time and help! Let me know if I missed any detail that might be useful.

 

[Aeacus]

That is way consistent to be bubbling noise/trapped air from the pump. Instead it sounds like bad bearing inside the pump.

It would be easy to test, IF you can define pump speed. If you can, put the pump at slower speed from NZXT CAM software and look if the "BRRRR" gets slower in resonance. If it does, it's the bearing.

Only fix - new CPU cooler.
Or RMA yours, since it has 6 years of warranty.

AIOs usually do last 2-3 years. Higher-end ones: 3-5 years. And that's the pump's lifespan. Since once pump goes bad, you need to replace the whole thing out.

 

[eightyeleven]

That is way consistent to be bubbling noise/trapped air from the pump. Instead it sounds like bad bearing inside the pump.

It would be easy to test, IF you can define pump speed. If you can, put the pump at slower speed from NZXT CAM software and look if the "BRRRR" gets slower in resonance. If it does, it's the bearing.

Only fix - new CPU cooler.
Or RMA yours, since it has 6 years of warranty.

AIOs usually do last 2-3 years. Higher-end ones: 3-5 years. And that's the pump's lifespan. Since once pump goes bad, you need to replace the whole thing out.

Hey! Thanks for your help! So, I did this test (CAM only lets me turn the pump speed down to about half), and it doesn't seem like it changes the resonance of the noise at all, see below video:

https://imgur.com/a/ftwC6mA

View: https://imgur.com/a/ftwC6mA

 

[Aeacus]

and it doesn't seem like it changes the resonance of the noise at all

It also sounds like plastic vibration, resonating to something. 🤔 Noise could be coming from GPU as well, since it is close to CPU/AIO. Try stopping GPU fans, if that option is available from software.

In case it is air trapped inside the AIO, try tilting the build back and forth, to dislodge the air from the pump.
Corsair has nice article and video tutorial on how to get rid of trapped air,
link: https://help.corsair.com/hc/en-us/a...Fix-rattling-or-bubbling-sounds-in-AIO-cooler

 

[eightyeleven]

It also sounds like plastic vibration, resonating to something. 🤔 Noise could be coming from GPU as well, since it is close to CPU/AIO. Try stopping GPU fans, if that option is available from software.

It could be coming from the GPU, but I don't think it is because when I listen below the GPU, it sounds quieter than if I'm listening above it. Also, the GPU fans are off by default and only turn on under heavy load. It's an AIO liquid cooled GPU as well, so it has a separate radiator that I have mounted to the front of the case (whereas the CPU radiator is mounted to the top). I even set up the loops to try to minimize the chances of air bubbles getting trapped.

I think at this point it would make the most sense to either get a cheap air cooler to swap (so that I can determine if it is indeed the CPU cooler pump), or to start shaking/tilting things around, as indicated in the 'air bubbles' troubleshooting article.

I appreciate your help; at least I know I'm not totally crazy in thinking that the sound didn't sound like the videos I've seen for the trapped air issue. I agree it does sound like it's resonating off of something. And the sound doesn't stop until the devices go to sleep or power down. Sounds like I have some disassembly and poking around to do.

 

[Aeacus]

but I don't think it is because when I listen below the GPU, it sounds quieter than if I'm listening above it.

Not that many moving parts in PC, that could resonate and cause vibration. Near CPU socket, either the CPU AIO pump or GPU AIO pump.

Since GPU AIO pump is also located on the GPU itself, right?
Could be that the GPU backplate (or some screw in it) is loose, thus resonating when pump is powered on and rotating.

Loose screw would also explain why it was quieter in the beginning (since it wasn't that loose); but once it turned completely loose, it now resonates with full "power".

Other than that, i can't think anything else.

PC disassembly would give better idea what is going on.

 

[eightyeleven]

Since GPU AIO pump is also located on the GPU itself, right?
Could be that the GPU backplate (or some screw in it) is loose, thus resonating when pump is powered on and rotating.

Loose screw would also explain why it was quieter in the beginning (since it wasn't that loose); but once it turned completely loose, it now resonates with full "power".

This makes sense and I'll check this out when I'm taking things apart. I'll report back when I determine what the solution was (hopefully!) -- thanks again for your help and insight. You've definitely given me a few extra things to think about.

Edit: Actually -- one other thing that has come up a few times recently, which could well be related: NZXT CAM keeps losing track of the Kraken Z73; I've seen it completely forget about it twice now (acting like it doesn't even exist and no longer has a section in the Cooling tab). I resolved this once by following NZXT's instructions for power-cycling the cooler, but I just opened CAM again and noticed that it currently has a placeholder for the Kraken Z73 but says "Communication to the device has failed." Do you think this could be indicative of cooler failure overall?

 

[Aeacus]

Do you think this could be indicative of cooler failure overall?

This is difficult to tell, since it could be one of the three:
* software failure (not that unheard of ecosystem software acting up)
* USB connection failure (sometimes, USB devices need unplug/replug for them to work fine again)
* AIO failure

I also have NZXT CAM running (due to my HUE+, AER140 RGB fans and NZXT LED strips). And for some reason, NZXT CAM loves to utilize ~25% of my CPU compute power, just to run one custom HUE+ profile. That's a lot and lately, i've closed CAM completely, once the CAM loads the RGB profile i've set up in my HUE+. Did open support ticket about it as well, and my issue was forwarded to dev team. CAM had 2 updates since but my issue still remains. So, i'm thinking to open 2nd ticket about it as well.

Ecosystem software, like NZXT CAM or Corsair iCUE or Asus Aura etc, do act up easily since they encompass so many different hardware from that single brand. E.g "one software to rule them all". But in reality, these ecosystem software struggle to run properly (due to their wide scope).
I also have Corsair iCUE (governing my peripherals: KB, mice, headset, mouse pad, headset stand) and even iCUE sometimes acts up on me. E.g i boot the PC, but my KB isn't detected. So, i have to unplug/replug the KB USB connector. Same with headset. Mice usually shows up, but there have been instances where i have to replug the mice too. And i even had to unplug/replug my mouse pad once (Corsair MM800 RGB Polaris). So, there's that.

This leads to the 2nd possible issue i listed above. When ecosystem software isn't able to detect the hardware, unplug/replug the USB usually helps. Now, Kraken Z73 communicates over internal USB 2.0 header, right? But it would be very inconvenient to unplug that internal cable. So, 2nd best option would be ecosystem program complete closure and then launching the ecosystem program again. If that fails, PC reboot usually fixes the detection issue.

And last possibility is hardware failure. With hardware, it's more like on/off switch, rather than "works sometimes, but not all the time". Either it works or doesn't work at all. So, i don't think the issue would be AIO itself, since it still detects it, sometimes. More like software detection issue.

 

[eightyeleven]

This is difficult to tell, since it could be one of the three:
* software failure (not that unheard of ecosystem software acting up)
* USB connection failure (sometimes, USB devices need unplug/replug for them to work fine again)
* AIO failure

Totally makes sense, and yeah, I've seen a lot of similar issues with iCUE over the years (in fact, it was freezing my computer up, so I had to enable hardware profiles, load all my lighting profiles onto the hardware memory, and then set iCUE to never run -- and then I periodically have to launch it to get firmware updates). I was just thinking that the coinciding of the Kraken Z73 dropping out of CAM multiple times recently (and not previously) and the noise could be related.

Thanks again for your time and help. I'll most likely try to take it apart tomorrow/over the weekend and see if I can identify the issue. Will post back here with my findings.

 

[awake283]

That is the hallmark sound of a dying pump. It needs to be replaced.

 

[eightyeleven]

Circling back here to provide an update to any interested parties:
I decided that the easiest way to test whether it was the GPU AIO pump or the CPU AIO pump was to remove the GPU, since that's a far easier process than removing and cleaning the CPU pump. When I booted it after removing the GPU, the noise stopped.

So, unfortunately, it was the EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 ULTRA HYBRID GAMING AIO pump that was making the noise. The Kraken Z73 is still fine. The good news (I guess) is that I may just barely be able to RMA it (bought it in 10/21, 3 year warranty), although at this point I really don't think I'll ever buy or use another AIO GPU. Next time I decide that liquid-cooling a GPU is important, I'll teach myself about custom loops.

Also, regarding the backplate or any component of the GPU being loose -- I did try to compress the GPU backplate into the GPU to see if that would stop the noise. It didn't have any effect. I'm assuming that the noise is the pump itself (possibly a bad bearing as suggested, but not really sure how to test because I don't think I can turn the GPU pump speed down with EVGA Precision X1? Unless I'm just missing it?)

Thanks for your guys' help!